RAIN AND SNOW 



105 



possibly prevented it from having anything like 

 a crust upon it, and the first sweep of wind 

 raises its light particles in the air to join the 

 new-comers. The total result is blinding and 

 confusing to the wayfarer. The air is full of 

 flashing, dashing flakes, and one can see no 

 farther in the maze than in a dense fog often 

 not so far. All landmarks, roadways, and trails 

 are obscured in a few minutes, and people per- 

 ish in such storms through losing their way and 

 being overcome by the cold, the wind, and the 

 driving snow. 



Once fallen, a mantle of snow produces the 

 most decided change in the appearance of the 

 earth, excepting the change from night to day, 

 of which we have knowledge. The earth is 

 naturally a light-absorber. It drinks in sun- 

 light and reflects just as little as possible, so that 

 its general appearance is comparatively dark, 

 with sheets of water showing here and there as 

 spots of white. When snow covers the ground 

 the appearance is reversed, and such objects as 

 trees and bare rocks appear merely as spots and 

 patches of dark upon the white. The inten- 

 sity of this white is common knowledge. It is 

 a bluish- white and much lighter than the clouds 

 casting it forth. This is largely for a reason 



